Confessions Around A Birthday Cake
by padfootagain
Summary: Caspian has prepared a surprise for your birthday but you have other worries in your mind.


This is pure fluff, I hope you like it :)

* * *

It had been the same dance between the two of you for months now. Wide smiles when you came across each other with friends, polite nods, sweet conversations about old books and maps and travels when you were alone, your fingers brushing against his but never intertwining, happiness shining in his eyes but his cheeks always blushing in discomfort.

You loved him and... he seemed to show some interest in you. But he wasn't ready to turn your friendship into a relationship yet, that was for sure. And you couldn't take this step in his stead. He was King of Narnia, you would never dare to tell him how you felt about him.

You were sitting alone in the gardens, watching the sun bathing the green leaves of the high oaks around you. The air was warm and carried the scent of the flowers around you. It was peaceful, being alone in such a place.

You looked at Caspian again. He was talking with another maiden who lived in the Castle, just like you. You recognized Sanya in a second. She was beautiful, with golden hair and deep blue eyes...

You wondered where Caspian's heart would shipwreck in the end. Despite your obvious friendship, there was still this little voice in your head that told you that it was impossible for him to love you. He could have had much better. He was King of Narnia, every woman your age dreamt about him at night.

And Sanya was one of them.

You stared at her as she laughed, chasing a lock of her long golden hair behind her ear in a seductive manner. You stared as Caspian laughed with her.

You wondered if he loved her.

She was a very logical choice. Important family, respected name, beautiful body. A bit selfish, but she was the perfect image of a queen.

And you didn't reckon you were the perfect image of a queen...

You heaved a sigh, watching the sunshine dance upon the trees again.

You hadn't told anyone that is was your birthday today. You didn't like celebrating the fact that one more year had drifted away, flying out of your grasp. Instead, you had chosen to remain alone for a while, in the peace and tranquility of the royal gardens.

You jumped when you heard the sound of a cracking branch behind you.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle, Y/N."

You stared at Caspian as he approached you, a smile on his face, his hair caught in the breeze flying around his handsome face.

"What are you doing here all alone on such a beautiful day?" he asked, leaning against the oak next to you.

"I'm just enjoying the sun and the perfume of flowers in full bloom, Your Highness," you answered.

He narrowed his eyes.

"You never call me like that when we are alone, unless if you are sad or angry because of me. What did I do?"

"Nothing. I just feel... rather melancholic today."

"Melancholic?"

You nodded, watching him bend down to help you get back on your feet.

"Don't be sad," he said, still holding your hands in his. "I can't see you being sad."

His calloused fingers were warm against your cold skin, and you could feel butterflies in your stomach.

You were pathetic whenever it came to him and you knew it.

You faked a smile, but he shook his head.

"Stop it," he ordered.

"Stop what?"

"Acting like you have to please me all the time."

"I do though, you're King remember?"

He frowned hard.

"Since when do you think of me as your King when we are alone?" he asked, and you could hear pain in his voice.

After all, there were few people across the Kingdom he could call some of his dear friends, who were not afraid to speak their mind, with whom he acted as _Caspian_ instead of _King Caspian_. And you knew you were one of them.

You shook your head, heaving a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I'm tired," you breathed. "I don't reckon I will be of good company today."

But he tightened his hold on your hands when you tried to take a step away from him.

"Tell me what's wrong," he insisted.

"It's nothing, Caspian. I'm just tired today."

"You're lying."

He gave you a weak smile, before guiding you towards the Castle.

"Caspian, what are you doing?" you asked, trying to make him slow down.

"Let me show you something."

"Aren't you supposed to be attending a meeting or something? It's the middle of the afternoon."

"I'm sure they'll survive for a few hours without me. Come on."

You let him guide you across the Castle, still holding your hand in his. You followed him as he walked into the royal stables, and helped you climb on his horse, before sitting behind you.

You could feel the movements of his chests against your back as he breathed in and out, and it was making it hard for you to breathe.

You let him carry you away from the city, and head for the woods. You knew this road, and the second he guided his horse in that direction you knew where he was heading. It led to your favourite part of the forest, a little clearing filled with poppies and daisies.

But when you entered the clearing, there was a blanket spread on the grass and a strange wooden box.

"Caspian?" you asked, staring at the strange objects. "What are these?"

He merely smiled in response and helped you dismount his horse, before guiding you towards the blanket.

"Sit down, Y/N," he asked softly, and you obliged.

"What's happening?" you asked, a smile curving up your lips.

But Caspian merely opened the box and took a huge cake out of it, with lots of fruits and cream...

A grin formed on his face as he put down the cake before you.

"Happy birthday, Y/N," he said, smiling.

You stared intensely at him, then you looked at the cake, and then Caspian again, and the cake... your eyes travelling from the grinning man before you to the food he had prepared for you.

"But... I didn't tell anyone..." you breathed.

"I'm King," he answered with an amused smile. "I can learn whatever I need to know."

"Thank you," you breathed, smiling weakly.

He took a knife and cut the pastry into little pieces.

"Why do you feel so sad today?" he asked again, watching you as you ate a piece of the excellent cake, unable to refrain a moan as you chewed the delicious food.

You shrugged.

"Several things," you answered elusively.

"What is it? You know you can tell me everything."

You knew he would not drop the subject. He was too stubborn for that.

"I don't like celebrating my birthday," you said softly.

He froze, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," he stuttered, blushing hard. "I... I thought you would like a surprise..."

"I do, Caspian," you smiled reassuringly. "I do like your surprise. It's just... I feel like celebrating one's birthday is just... a reminder that time flies by too quickly, no matter what we may try to stop it."

Caspian nodded slowly.

"Is there anything else troubling you?" he asked, swallowing a mouthful of cake.

You hesitated, before shaking your head.

How could you tell him you were jealous of Sanya? He could never know about your feelings for him after all.

But you clenched your jaw as Caspian started to talk about her...

"Sanya told me that you were organizing a picnic next week with the rest of the maidens?" he asked.

You nodded, but didn't reply. He put down his piece of cake.

"What did I do?" he asked, and you could hear annoyance in his voice now.

"Nothing, Caspian..."

"You've been... pushing me away since the second I talked to you today."

You put down your piece of cake as well.

"What's wrong with you, today?" he asked once more.

You could hear he was trying not to raise his voice. He was trying to hide the fact that he was disappointed. He had planned everything and you knew how busy he was these days. He had made an effort to please you, and you could only thank him with silence and fleeing gazes.

You heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry," you breathed.

"I don't need you to apologize," he replied. "I need you to tell me what is troubling you. I can't help you if I don't know what worries you so much."

You looked up at him, withheld tears shining in your eyes.

You were tired of playing this game with him. You were tired of pushing away other men while you waited for him to make a move that he would probably never make anyway. You were tired of being just a friend to him.

So... as you would probably soon lose him anyway... why not ask him the question that was burning your tongue?

"Are you in love with Sanya?"

He stared at you, frowning hard.

"I beg your pardon?" he breathed, clearly taken aback.

"Do you love Sanya?" you asked again.

"Why... why would you think that?"

"Because I'm not completely stupid," you replied, and your tone sounded much more annoyed than you intended.

You fled his gaze again, and stood up, walking towards Caspian's horse.

"I think I want to go back now," you breathed, your voice a shaking and hoarse.

You couldn't face Caspian about this. You just couldn't. You were not strong enough to know. It was better to run away and never hear his answer instead of taking the risk of losing what you didn't have.

You heard him walking behind you. You were standing still, stroking the neck of his horse. He stopped right behind you.

"Why would you be upset about Sanya anyway?" he asked softly.

"I don't reckon she would be a good queen," you answered. "Not next to you at least. She's too selfish, and you... you're selfless."

He gently forced you to turn around to face him again, and he silently stared at you for a moment.

And you held his intense gaze without flinching.

"She loves you, you know," you told him. "Sanya... she's in love with you."

He took your hands in his again.

"And yet I didn't prepare a surprise for her birthday, did I?"

He was struggling, searching for the right words, you could see it now. He was nervous, blushing more and more by the second. He tightened his hold on your hands.

"This is not exactly going as I had planned, but... I guess now I should just... do this anyway."

You frowned, waiting for him to continue.

"I need you to forget I'm King for a moment," he said, his voice just a whisper. "I need you to be honest with me, like you often are. I need... I need you to answer me as earnestly as you can, and don't think about my rank. I don't care about being King when it comes to you, I never have. And I think you know it."

You nodded slowly, listening carefully to his urgent voice.

"I didn't bring you here just because of your birthday," he admitted. "There's an important matter... a crucial matter we have to discuss in private."

"What is it?"

"We... we've been friends for quite a while now, right?"

You nodded.

"What if..." he whispered, his voice hesitant and trembling. "What if I... don't want us to be friends anymore?"

You frowned, but he interrupted you before you could even speak a word.

"What if I want us to be much more than just friends?"

Your expression changes from sad to shocked in the blink of an eye.

"What if I don't love Sanya at all?" he went on, his voice urgent now. "What if... What if it's you that haunts my dreams at night?"

Your eyes grew even wider, but he chose to ignore your reactions for now, and he went on.

"What if I am jealous everytime a man comes to talk with you? What if... What if I want you to be all mine?"

He stopped, done with his speech, too scared to go on. But you were motionless, gaping at him.

"Could you say something?" he asked.

But you merely stared at him again, and he heaved a deep sigh.

"You can tell me if you don't feel the same," he said reassuringly, although you could see that the mere thought was hurting him. "I want to know your real feelings, and if you don't feel anything more for me than friendship then we can just... forget about this talk. I don't want you to see the King in me, I've always wanted you to see me as I truly am. And it's this man who's speaking now, not the King of Narnia. And it's this man you have to answer to, not your King. Y/N?"

But before he could add anything more you had gone on your tiptoes and was kissing his lips.

You didn't give him enough time to react, pulling away, suddenly aware of your actions, and you blushed hard.

"Caspian..."

But he held your face in both his hands, kissing you desperately, like he was afraid never to have the chance again, like he was afraid you had just acted on an impulse and you would change your mind after having thought for a while.

But you had thought about this for so long, how could you change your mind about this?

When he finally unsealed your lips, you pressed your face to his chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart, closing your eyes.

"If I'm not speaking to the King now, I have to tell you, Caspian..." you whispered, your voice just loud enough for him to hear. "You're such an idiot sometimes."

You felt him smiling, his lips resting upon your head.

"I don't want us to be friends," he whispered. "I've never wanted us to be friends."

"I don't want us to be just friends either," you answered.

He smiled again.

"I love you, Y/N."

You looked up at him, tears shining in your eyes. But you were not ashamed of your tears, you could see the same in Caspian's eyes.

"I love you too, Caspian."

You sighed.

"Why did it take you so long?" you asked, making him laugh.

"You could have spoken up first too, if you were in such a hurry."

But you shook your head.

"I was too insecure for that."

"Well, don't be anymore. Never."

He took a little gift from his pocket. It was a squared box, wrapped in golden paper.

"Happy Birthday, by the way," he said, giving you your gift.

You took the box he was offering you, grinning, and you unwrapped it slowly.

It was a velvet box. You opened it.

And as your eyes grew round with shock one more time, Caspian kneeled down before you.

You stared at the shining ring he had offered you for a moment, and as you looked into his tender eyes, you knew exactly what he was about to ask.

"Y/N..."

But you didn't give him the chance to finish his question, as you took his face in your hands, kissing him again.

"Yes. Yes, Caspian, yes..." you said between two kisses, as you both fell down on the grass.

"I didn't even ask you..."

"I know what you wanted to ask and the answer is yes. Yes, a thousand times yes..."

You heard him chuckling as you kissed again.

And when you looked up at him, both of you grinning, he had passed the engagement ring around your finger.


End file.
